Hi there
I’m a new member of the site. I’m not a reptile collector but am passionate about sighting reptiles in the wild and as a kid used to catch them and keep a few (there wasnt clear laws then and we had no idea what the affects of taking them from the wild would be). I now live in Queensland but grew up in western Sydney near the site of the M2 motorway (near Kings Langley and Norwest), where we would catch loads of Beardie dragons and blue tongues. I can still remember seeing 6 bearded dragons in one small area on one occasion and catching 3 of them. We would hardly ever go into the area and not see a beardie. I can also remember seeing beardies on the trees as we waited for the school bus at Crestwood reserve in north west Sydney. This was 30 years ago.
I have my own kids now and like me they love reptiles. I love taking them out to look for wild reptiles.
Anyhow, every time I go back to Sydney to visit my parents I go looking for bearded dragons in the remaining bush around western Sydney and I havent seen a a single beardee for 15 years. We found spots where there are plenty of water dragons but no beardies. The water dragons however seem to be thriving.
Now I live in Queensland in an area near plenty of bush, (near Beerwah - think Aust zoo) and we go out looking and see lots of water dragons and snakes and have even seen a few Goannas but no bearded dragons. We even saw a southern angle headed dragon.
I read online and in books about how common bearded dragons are or were around Sydney and Brisbane, even being seen on fence posts and near surburbia. I believe this is no longer the case and they have gone MIA in the wild. I recently spoke to a council worker whose job was to clear vegetation in the reserves around western Sydney. He could also remember the time when bearded dragons were a very common site. However, he could not remember the last time he had seen one and basically said they had disappeared. Now there may be areas around Australia where they are still common but my own experience in western Sydney and in the north of Brisbane is they have all but disappeared in the wild. This is is a little sad considering how many thousands of beardies that would be kept as pets in these areas. I asked the guy who ran the reptile shop in rouse hill in Sydney why there are no longer beardies around and less blue tongues and he said that they were all gone because of cats and dogs and people taking them for the pet trade. Now I know that pet beardies are supposed to be all bred in captivity but I’m not sure this was always the case and perhaps they are still being taken? Even the blue tongues in the wild seem to be on the decline and its less common to hear of people who have wild blue tongues in their back yards these days. Im sure habitat destruction is a huge factor but the reality is there are still plenty of areas around that still have plenty of bush.
What are other peoples experiences? Are bearded dragons in rapid decline and no longer common in many areas? Is this the result of the pet trade or other factors? Could beardies be reintroduced into suitable areas to breed up again? It would be a shame for my childrens children to live in a world where the only beardies they will ever see are at Kellyville pets or Australia zoo.
Thanks for any feedback and observations
James
I’m a new member of the site. I’m not a reptile collector but am passionate about sighting reptiles in the wild and as a kid used to catch them and keep a few (there wasnt clear laws then and we had no idea what the affects of taking them from the wild would be). I now live in Queensland but grew up in western Sydney near the site of the M2 motorway (near Kings Langley and Norwest), where we would catch loads of Beardie dragons and blue tongues. I can still remember seeing 6 bearded dragons in one small area on one occasion and catching 3 of them. We would hardly ever go into the area and not see a beardie. I can also remember seeing beardies on the trees as we waited for the school bus at Crestwood reserve in north west Sydney. This was 30 years ago.
I have my own kids now and like me they love reptiles. I love taking them out to look for wild reptiles.
Anyhow, every time I go back to Sydney to visit my parents I go looking for bearded dragons in the remaining bush around western Sydney and I havent seen a a single beardee for 15 years. We found spots where there are plenty of water dragons but no beardies. The water dragons however seem to be thriving.
Now I live in Queensland in an area near plenty of bush, (near Beerwah - think Aust zoo) and we go out looking and see lots of water dragons and snakes and have even seen a few Goannas but no bearded dragons. We even saw a southern angle headed dragon.
I read online and in books about how common bearded dragons are or were around Sydney and Brisbane, even being seen on fence posts and near surburbia. I believe this is no longer the case and they have gone MIA in the wild. I recently spoke to a council worker whose job was to clear vegetation in the reserves around western Sydney. He could also remember the time when bearded dragons were a very common site. However, he could not remember the last time he had seen one and basically said they had disappeared. Now there may be areas around Australia where they are still common but my own experience in western Sydney and in the north of Brisbane is they have all but disappeared in the wild. This is is a little sad considering how many thousands of beardies that would be kept as pets in these areas. I asked the guy who ran the reptile shop in rouse hill in Sydney why there are no longer beardies around and less blue tongues and he said that they were all gone because of cats and dogs and people taking them for the pet trade. Now I know that pet beardies are supposed to be all bred in captivity but I’m not sure this was always the case and perhaps they are still being taken? Even the blue tongues in the wild seem to be on the decline and its less common to hear of people who have wild blue tongues in their back yards these days. Im sure habitat destruction is a huge factor but the reality is there are still plenty of areas around that still have plenty of bush.
What are other peoples experiences? Are bearded dragons in rapid decline and no longer common in many areas? Is this the result of the pet trade or other factors? Could beardies be reintroduced into suitable areas to breed up again? It would be a shame for my childrens children to live in a world where the only beardies they will ever see are at Kellyville pets or Australia zoo.
Thanks for any feedback and observations
James